We know that Japan uses a seal/stamp to sign the name. Today we go further and talk about stamps that serve as a collection and can be found in various tourist spots and train stations. The famous “Sutanpu” [スタンプ] that are found in various places in Japan, temples, stations, islands, onsen, cities, parks, gardens, shops, konbini, and others.
These stamps are used for you to register, collect, and remember the place you visited. It is believed that these stamps are also a good marketing strategy. They can be of any size, color, and shape. Some are stamped in the traditional way, placing the stamp on the pad and stamping, but there are stamps that look like a giant stapler, or that already have the pad built-in.
There are various types of different stamps, some are released to commemorate a special occasion, sometimes there are even competitions to see who collects the most stamps. The good thing is that these stamps found at tourist spots can replace a souvenir or postcard. In most of these places, you can find blank sheets, or you can buy a postcard and stamp it for your friends.
In most castles and museums, you will find one or more stamps of different sizes or shapes. At the Osaka aquarium, you can find stamps of marine animals all over the place. Sometimes you find these stamps in the most unlikely places.
Eki Sutanpu – Train Station Stamp
These stamps tend to be large and represent something notable about the place or neighborhood. Since there are over 9,000 train stations in Japan, it is believed that there may be over 5,000 stamps. It is worth noting that these stamps are updated, some have limited editions, etc.
In most stations, the stamp is usually located at the entrance or in a prominent place, but each station is different from one another. It can be either outside or inside the station, you can ask an official where the stamping location is by saying:
駅スタンプはどこですか
Eki sutanpu wa doko desuka?
The stamp may be inside some department of the station like the Ticket Office. It may also happen that the station does not have a stamp, depending on its size or company.
I Want to Collect!
The first place I found a stamp was at the Sky Tree, unfortunately, I didn’t have the notebook, so the first thing you need to do is get a notebook. Although there are several bookstores in the area, the blank notebooks I found are expensive and strange. I found the perfect notebook in a 100 yen store, and then I put a bunch of stickers to cover the notebook’s logo.
I walked through several stations in Tokyo and managed to get various stamps, I had to exit most of the stations, but I didn’t spend because I used the JRPass. I found some stamps unrelated to the location, anime characters, fish, buildings, etc. I made a video of my little stamp notebook and I will leave it for you to watch below:
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